efoodie

favorite appetizer, spiced beef cigars

  Happy New Year everyone!  This is an appetizer I first made last year, thanks to one of my egullet friends, Dejah. It was such a hit at Christmas that I made it again for New Year's and they loved it and are expecting it again this year.  It's a simple, different appetizer that looks impressive and tastes heavenly. The key ingredient is honey, which lends sweetness to the beef and really complements the spices, Cumin, Cinnamon, Paprika and Cayenne. It comes together quickly, but the rolling of the cigars does take a little time. You should be able to mix and bake this in about an hour to an hour and a half. You can also bake these cigars ahead of time, freeze, and then just warm up before serving.

SPICED BEEF CIGARS, based on Dejah's recipe.
   
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp. each of ground cumin and paprika
¼ tsp. each of cayenne pepper and cinnamon
1 lb. lean ground beef
2/3 cup tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tbsp honey
¾ cup dry fine breadcrumbs
phyllo pastry (if you buy a box, there are usually two bags inside, just use one, and freeze the other for later)
½ cup  melted butter

1.     Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onions and garlic. Cook a few minutes until tender.  Add spices. Cook 30 seconds until fragrant. Add beef. Cook until meat looses its raw appearance. Add tomato sauce. Simmer 5 minutes. Season to taste. Transfer to a bowl. Cool. Add beaten egg, honey,  and half of the breadcrumbs.

2.     Takie phyllo pastry out of the package and cut the stack of 12 sheets into thirds crosswise so that each strip is about 12” x 4”. Cover with a damp cloth.

3.     Work with 2 or 3 pieces of phyllo at a time. Arrange the pastry in a single layer on your work surface. Have olive oil or melted butter and a pastry brush at hand. Brush oil/butter over the phyllo and sprinkle with bread crumbs.

4.     Form about 1 tbsp. of the filling into a log about 3” long and place it the center at the bottom of the strip of phyllo. Fold edges over the filling and roll up. Arrange on a baking sheet lined with
parchment paper. Brush the top with oil/butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds (if desired, I haven't used them yet).

5.     Bake in a preheated oven 400F/200C oven for 20 minutes  until brown and crisp.

You can freeze them after step #4. When you want to serve them, put them into the preheated oven without defrosting.  Add an extra 5 to 10 minutes to the regular baking time.

You can also bake them then freeze them. To serve, reheat in  oven for 15 minutes.

DIP:   Combine plain yogurt with enough curry paste to taste. ( about 1 tbsp.)

I've never made that dip because someone is deathly allergic to curry, so I made a dip that was half sour cream, and half salsa, and it was perfect. About a half cup of each.

Enjoy!  These are amazingly good.

:) Pam

Books--The Great Blog Experiment

I'm taking a break from the food world today, for a very important cause, using blogs to generate awareness for great new authors/books. This idea is Nadia's, and I think it's a great one, a fun project I am excited to participate in. Details below,

From literary agent, Nadia Cornier's blog,
   

THE GREAT BLOG EXPERIMENT

Our Theory:
Our theory is that readers do have some power – how much, we're not
sure – but we like to think that if readers get really jazzed about
a book and "spread the word" that amazing things can happen for a
book. Since this is old news, we are also proposing that instead of
reading reviews via magazines or simply through amazon – that blogs
are the "review culture" of the future and that if you respect
someone's writing via a blog, you might also respect someone's
opinion of a book they read. What we hope to prove is that with
enough people creating buzz via their blogs (either positive or
negative – we don't care, we believe that all books will have some
of both) a book's sales will shoot up. If this proves to be true, we
will ascertain that not only should authors have blogs (in which to
share important information with readers and other writers) but that
all readers should blog about books they are currently reading –
either enjoying or otherwise – in order to promote books and the
industry as a whole. Bah on the people who say, "Nobody is reading
anymore." Bah! Bah! I say.

The Procedure:

1. I picked a book. Our "criteria" was that - first and foremost -
it wasn't connected in anyway to our agency. Our other criteria was
that it was a book that was poised as a break out novel, but didn't
quite make it -- that we could do a Q&A with the author and the
editor (perhaps even the agent involved) and that while it was a
book that I would heartily recommend (so you aren't going to waste
cash on buying it) it was a book that didn't receive a spot on the
best seller lists. Other, smaller criteria was that it had to be
published recently enough that it was available in bookstores but
long enough that it was no longer receiving "publisher" assistance
on marketing.

The book I picked was:

TEACH ME by R.A. Nelson
ISBN: 1595140840

I'll talk more (as the week goes by) about why I picked this book in
particular -- but suffice it to say that I enjoyed it. I recommend
it. I felt it got a bum wrap being compared to other,
more "sensational" books that came out at a similar time -- and
instead of being used as an example of difference - it was trounced
as being exactly like "all those bad books that parents of teenagers
should watch out for." First of all, that absolutely smacks
of "banning" books, second of all, I have NOTHING against bad
reviews. I have Nothing against saying a book was bad (you're
totally entitled to your opinion) but to do so without actually
READING the book is not only annoying but it is reckless in the
extreme. Don't ruin books for millions because of your ignorance.
And that's how I feel about that.

That said, there are so many different feelings about TEACH ME. I
think this would be a fun book to delve into. I mean, it's not the
kind of book you feel wishy-washy about. It's got a very sensitive
subject matter (about a girl who has an affair with her teacher),
it's got some good writing (which we can also argue about), and ...
well, let's just say that we'll find tons to talk about. I'm
interested in hearing YOUR opinions about this book. It'll teach me
something. No pun intended. Sort of.

2. To have an educated discussion about a book, we need to have
read the book. So -- I'm asking you to go and buy it. It's on
Amazon. It's in your local stores, so when you're doing your
Christmas shopping (and I KNOW your totally snogging the B&N on your
way) stop and pick up a copy and read it. Then come back and post a
comment here. I want LOTS of comments. I want A VIVID DISCUSSION. I
want to see FUR FLY! (heh.. sorry). Today is the 13th. If you plan
on joining in (and i hope you do) please buy it by the 20th of
December.

3. Not only a topic about what makes a book "worthy" or a "break out
novel" -- this is also an experiment to see what bloggers can do. So
I need your help. I need you to help SPREAD THE WORD. Cut & Paste
this info (or link to it) from your own blog -- post it to your
writer's groups. Spread the word and get other people involved. Link
them back here to :: www.livejournal.com/~agentobscura :: -- Once
you do, send me an email at blog[at]firebrandliterary[dot]com --
with your name & your URL and where you first heard about this
experiment.... and to thank you for helping I'll send you a cool
button for your blog that says you've participated and I'll also add
you to my list of "particpants" that I'll post at the end of the
experiment... so everyone can see their fellow particpants and can
go visit one another's sites. For anyone who receives a lot of
mentions in the "Where I first heard about this experiment" -- I'll
send you a special participant button to post on your website or
blog. Because then you'll be special ::wink::.

4. Come back here and lets rant and rave about the book.

5. I'll post more of the Q&As on break out novels (writing,
publishing and promoting them) -- as well as a Q&A about the process
THIS book went through from the author & editor.

6. I'll post the results of the experiment (how many people - we
believe - participated, how many copies sold during this time, if
there was a major spike, etc). And then we'll discuss what all this
data means.

So... I hope you get involved. I really need your help to make this
work. :) So, spread spread spread.... (the word, obviously).

Thanks for your help, in advance, I can't wait to see how this
goes!!! If it goes at all!!!

Additional thoughts from me on this,

I think this is a fantastic idea. I'm buying the book today, was curious about it anyway after hearing about it on Diana's blog, and even though this is not the slightest bit food related, I'm taking a break from my usual programming to post this today. I think it's such an important thing, and I feel very strongly that blogs, when used well, can sell books, and spread world of mouth like crazy.

If the sentiment is genuine. The blogs that sell me books....and lots of them, are the ones where the blogger says something like, "This book really moved me, or blew me away, or whatever, because...." and then there's a link to more on the book and author. This is how I've been introduced to many new authors/books, and if it sounds interesting, my next click is over to Amazon for an impulse purchase. That is how powerful blogs can be.

The blog posts that don't move me so much, the ones that just feel like generic re-posts, promos of pre-packaged interviews that are cut and pasted onto a series of blogs for a week or two when the book comes out. I just don't take these as seriously, because in most cases, they're ads. Sure, sometimes there's a nudge from the blogger, "check this book out, it's really great". But, that usually doesn't move me so much.

:) Pam

The $14.99 "Panini Press" that rocks

Yes, it's the little George Foreman grill.  The poor man's panini press, that is surprisingly, every bit as good as the fancy ones in William's Sonoma that went up by $20 this year. That's how popular the $80 Krups model was last year, so why not 'improve' it and jack the price up to $99?  I was actually planning to buy that $80 model this year, and was dismayed to discover it no longer exists.

But, then I had a bit of an epiphany one day, when the sandwich I'd ordered as a panini from my local deli, wasn't. When I got home and opened the box, I discovered that my rare roast beef, lettuce, tomato and onion, with blue cheese dressing (a truly amazing combo), was just cold and lonely on the braided Italian roll. I took a bite, and it just wasn't the same. Something had to be done, but what? Then I remembered that tucked away, collecting dust in a corner cabinet, was my George Foreman grill. Like most people, I got one when they first came out, used it for a few months, until the novelty wore off, and then put it away. I figured it was worth a shot.

Well, let's just say that my little George Foreman grill hasn't gone back in the cupboard since! It blew me away how well it worked as a panini press. It put the same marks on it, and got the same toasty crunch on the outside, and warm meltiness on the inside. I decided to put it to the true test by seeing how it would do with my favorite bread, Panera's country white. I'd cooked a small turkey breast just after Thanksgiving, so I could have leftovers for a week, and first thing I did was to slice off enough meat for a sandwich, slathered on a bit of mustard and mayonnaise, and put it all between two slices of the bread. Ten minutes later, I had the perfect, grilled panini. It was so good, that for two days, I had turkey paninis for lunch and dinner, and yes, even breakfast one day.

So, the point of all this is that you don't need to spend a hundred dollars on a fancy panini press, when old George is on sale on Amazon for a mere $14.99.  Just think of all the presents, and turkey you can buy with the money you'll save. 

:) Pam

Leftover spaghetti sauce? Throw in a chicken!

  Don't you just love it when an experiment works? And works so wonderfully that you know you'll make it again and again? I had such a success the other night with a batch of leftover spaghetti sauce. We've just started getting snow here, there's maybe two inches on the ground, and the forecast is for another 4-7 today, so I had that in mind when I stopped by my local butcher yesterday.

I stocked up on coldcuts, and good Italian bread, and then had an inspiration for how to use up my leftover sauce. I got one chicken breast, bone-in, and headed home. I almost always buy my chicken breasts bone-in now, as it's less expensive, and much better I think. I roast them breast down, usually with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper and a bit of rosemary, and they always come out super moist and flavorful, far more so than the boneless breasts.  So, after stripping off any remaining bits of fatty skin, I plopped the breast into a big shallow pan.  I stuffed the cavity with a handful of fresh basil leaves, and poured my leftover sauce around the chicken, so it came up about halfway on the sides. I then splashed in about a quarter cup of red wine, and popped the pan in the oven at 375 for about an hour, then I turned the chicken breast up and cooked for another 15 minutes, to get rid of all traces of pink. Then I flipped it back over, took it out of the oven, and let it sit for another 15 minutes before serving.

I can't even begin to tell you how wonderfully this turned out. The chicken soaked up the flavor of the sauce, which picked up the flavor of the chicken, and it was just completely delicious. I served mine with a side of buttered corn and green beans, but bet it would be wonderful over pasta.  This is so easy, and tastes like you spent a lot of time on it. I'm having the leftovers today, and expect that they'll be just as good, if not better after a night's rest.

Enjoy!

:) Pam

Cocktails and Cheesecake

I should probably clarify that this picture isn't quite what the pumpkin cheesecake will look like. The recipe I'm sharing is actually much prettier, and has a swirly caramel pattern on top, not these blobs of whatever they are. But, since I have to wait for Santa to deliver a new digital camera, I can't be too choosy about what I throw up for images. This is close enough.  :)

This dessert was by far the biggest hit at our Thanksgiving feast. My brother-in-law' s Aunt made it, and everyone was so impressed, because she doesn't love to cook the way the rest of us do, and it was so amazingly good. It's hard to decide what I like most about this dessert, it could be the creamy cheesecake that is the perfect blend of pumpkin flavor and rich, yet airy cheese filling, or it could be the crust, which is a wonderfully delicious mix of brown sugar, pecans and the key ingredient, crushed gingersnap cookies. Add a thin sour cream based topping with drizzles of caramel and it makes for one spectacular dessert. Easy to make, and looks like it came from a bakery. Here's the link to the recipe on Epicurious, this is from Bon Appetit, and you know it must be good when it has close to 200 rave reviews from people who have made it.

Now, onto cocktails. Here are two of my all-time favorites, and now that we're into holiday season, they might be fun to make at your next party. One is very common, a Cosmopolitan, and you no doubt have had it many times, maybe even made it yourself, but my little twist, that I learned from a bartender friend, raises it to a new level of flavor. It's also a bit dangerous, because you might be tempted to have more than one. :) 

The other is one that you probably haven't had, and it's ideal for people who don't think they like shots, or who prefer sweeter drinks. You can have this on the rocks, or shake it up good and pour it into shot glasses and it will have a nice foamy froth on top. I learned this one from my favorite Chinese restaurant on Cape Cod, the Tiki Port, and it's my friend Judy's favorite shot. She never had any interest in shots until she was introduced to the Pineapple Bomb, which is simply equal amounts of pineapple juice, Southern Comfort, and Amaretto. Shake it furiously so it develops a nice froth, and then pour into shot glasses or over ice.

The Perfect Cosmopolitan

1 1/4 ounces vodka (about 2 1/2 tablespoons)

1/4 ounce Rose's lime juice (about 1/2 tablespoon)

1/4 ounce triple sec or Cointreau (about 1/2 tablespoon)

1/4 ounce  simple syrup (about 1/2 tablespoon)

1/4 cup cranberry juice

1 cup ice

Mix all ingredients in a shaker with ice, strain into martini glass, and garnish with piece of lime.

Simple syrup is the key ingredient that lends a bit of sweetness and smooths the edges.

It's very easy to make, just put a cup of sugar and two cups of water in a sauce pan, bring to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves. Pour into a jar, cover tightly and refrigerate. It can be added to any cocktail as desired.

Enjoy!

Pam